Healing Experiences
by uncontained hybrid
Summary: Anthony was never himself after the war. How could he be? But a trip to the Holy Land helps him to heal and recover from his experiences during the war. Jewish!Anthony


_For Karyn. Hope you enjoy this dose of Jewish!Anthony, lovely. _

* * *

The war was over. It had been over for about two years now, and Anthony supposed he should be getting on with his life - even Harry Potter was already married - but all he felt was tired and lonely.

* * *

Anthony had begun dating Terry Boot sometime during that terrible seventh year. It made sense. Anthony had been best friends with Terry since second year, and had nursed feelings for the latter for a year before working up the nerve to tell Terry how he felt.

And maybe they had been dating only to satisfy an itch, the desire to do something, to do all the regular things teenagers and young adults do. They were so young, and all of them had felt the pressure of being faced so blatantly with their own mortality. They were practically staring death in the face, and all of them had done wild, reckless things in attempt to fight off the darkness.

So perhaps that was the reason that so soon after the war, Terry and Anthony broke it off. Even though it had been a mutual decision, something they both agreed upon – that they needed to work on themselves post-war before working on a relationship, it hit Anthony hard.

Anthony fell into a deep depression, barely exiting his room. He still lived at his parents' house, not doing any work, not helping around their house, like something hovering on the edge of your peripheral vision.

* * *

His family wondered what had happened to their once lively, happy son, and knew they had to do something. But precisely what something was a hot topic of debate in the Goldstein household.

Edna Goldstein, Anthony's grandmother and a rather matronly old lady, a Holocaust survivor herself, understood Anthony's desire to hide from the world, but maintained he needed someone to talk to, rather than professional help, as Anthony's father thought.

"He's got his friends from school. They'll understand better than any psychiatrist or psychologist. He'll feel less threatened that way, take it from me."

Rachel Goldstein, Anthony's mother, disagreed with both her mother-in-law and her husband. "All Anthony needs is to get away. He's barely seen anything but the walls of this house since that infernal battle. I think that his friends will remind him too much of Terry, and his friends who passed away."

"Where would he go to get a change of scenery, hmm?" Anthony's father, David, prompted.

After quite a few weeks of discussion, Edna brought up a rather valid point. "We really should ask Anthony what he thinks of all this. Introverted as he's been these past few years, he should have a say in what happens to him."

Rachel laughed a little. "We should have thought of that earlier. We'll try to convince him to eat dinner outside of his room for once."

David shifted in his seat. "We'll lay out the options for him, and he'll pick."

Rachel smiled at her husband. "Exactly," she stated.

Edna knocked on the door of Anthony's bedroom, to no response. She sighed and turned the knob, pushing the door open. Anthony was sitting motionless on his bed, staring at the wall, his eyes glazed over.

She tip-toed over to Anthony's bed, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Netanel?" she questioned, using Anthony's Hebrew name.

He jumped, startled. "Huh?" he croaked out.

"Are you planning on joining us for dinner tonight?"

Anthony hunched over, drawing his shoulders in. "No thanks."

"Please?"

"Mama, I'd much rather stay here-"

"Stay here?" she raised her eyebrows. "You've spent too many days 'staying here'. How much longer are you going to 'stay here'?" Her rant in full swing, she continued. "You can't spend the rest of your life here. One thing I've learnt in my years on this Earth is that no matter what you've been through, the rest of the world carries on. And you can create a prison cell in here far worse than any cell the enemy could have. I went through all hell, and here I am. And I can tell you, young man, that I wouldn't be here if I'd given up hope."

Anthony's shoulders slumped. "Mama, I'm sorry. You've suffered so much more than I."

Edna sighed, placing an arm around Anthony's shoulders. "There's no use in comparing suffering. Now, go clean up. I think your mother will have dinner ready in about an hour."

Anthony nodded slowly.

Edna left the room, shutting the door, and Anthony began to pick up his clothes and plodded to the bathroom to have a shower and shave.

He emerged from the bathroom, looking perhaps fresher than he had in years.

Hair still dripping water onto his shirt, he dropped his dirty clothes into the laundry basket and drifted towards the dining room table.

Rachel placed a bowl of salad on the table, and dished out portions of baked chicken to her family.

"Nu, take some salad," she motioned to where it was sitting on the table. David reached out and passed it to Edna. Edna then passed it onto Anthony, who took a tiny portion for himself and then gave the bowl back to his father.

Anthony sat in his chair, spooning food into his mouth, not looking at anyone else. The meal progressed in silence, everyone wrapped up in their food and their thoughts.

Rachel lifted her head, nudging her husband's elbow. David looked up, clearing his throat.

"Anthony… We've been talking, and we think it would be good for you to get some kind of he-"

Anthony jumped in, interrupting his father's sentence. "No, I'm not going to see a Healer."

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Rachel soothed. "There are other options."

"Like what?" Anthony shot at his mother.

"You could go away, get a change of scenery," Rachel suggested.

"Where could I go?" Anthony asked in slight disbelief.

"Israel. Your sister Lea lives there, if you haven't forgotten."

"But-"

"We can sort it out for you. But you'll need to leave the house to get a new passport."

"No, it's not that," Anthony murmured. "I don't want to bother Lea and her husband. And I'm sure she's busy. She has two children, after all."

"Three years of living in our house, contributing nothing, and he suddenly finds a conscience," David drawled out.

Rachel gave her husband an admonishing look and continued.

"I've already spoken to Lea about it. She said that she would be happy to have you. And since she lives on a kibbutz, you wouldn't have to live with her."

"You know I don't agree with the ideas kibbutzim are based on."

David chuckled. "The kibbutzim aren't what they used to be. They don't have things like the Beit Yeladim anymore. And besides, Lea lives on a wizards' kibbutz. Their ideals differ from the big kibbutzim somewhat."

Anthony shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'll go," he consented.

"Would you rather go the Muggle way, or by Portkey?"

"It doesn't matter to me. Whatever's cheaper for you."

* * *

One month later, Anthony was boarding a flight at Heathrow Airport, bound for Ben-Gurion. He stared out the window, watching the world disappear beneath him as the plane soared into the sky. He knew he had about five hours to think about his travels. He was glad he had convinced his parents out of booking a red-eye flight. He was still frequently confronted by the past in his dreams, and the last thing he wanted to do was make a spectacle of himself by screaming in his sleep in front of all the other passengers.

He wasn't particularly close to Lea. She was almost a full seven years older than him, and she'd left home as soon as she'd finished school. She'd gotten herself a tiny studio apartment in London, so that she was closer to St. Mungo's, where she had decided to train as a Healer. At the time, Anthony had just been starting at Hogwarts.

By the time Anthony had finished his fifth year, Lea had finished her Healer training, and that summer, she married an Israeli wizard named Daniel. Daniel had come to visit his British relatives after serving his mandatory army service in the Israeli Defense Force.

After their marriage, the two had moved to Israel. They'd had their first child during Anthony's sixth year, and he'd been in Hogwarts when his parents had flown to Israel to meet their first grandchild. The next time, it had been ten months after the war, and he had stayed at home, with his grandmother, who had moved into their house, following the death of her husband eighteen months prior.

Lost in his thoughts, Anthony was snapped out his reverie only by the stewardess asking him to buckle his seatbelt for landing.

Finally having made it through Customs, he met a grinning Lea at the airport's pickup area.

"Anthony!" she embraced her younger brother. "How are you?"

"I'm alright. Tired, I guess."

Anthony could feel Lea scrutinizing him as he stepped into the car she had taken from the kibbutz.

The drive through Israel, though long, was rather beautiful, and, Anthony thought to himself, a pretty decent way to see the Holy Land.

* * *

The next three weeks were so busy Anthony hardly had time to think about anything else. He did some work on the kibbutz, saw the land along with Lea's family, and did his best to get acquainted with his brother-in-law and nieces, and indeed, to get to know his sister better.

He hadn't had a nightmare since coming to Israel, and he found he really quite liked life on the kibbutz. He knew he'd been changed since arriving.

Before he knew it, he was boarding a flight from Eilat to Ben Gurion, preparing to fly home to England.

Lea hugged him tightly. "I'll miss you," she whispered.

Anthony smiled. "I'll be back soon," he promised.

As the plane sped down the runway at Ben Gurion, Anthony found himself somewhat choked up. Seeing his nation's sacred land for the first time had definitely been an experience, one that had changed him, perhaps for the better.

* * *

A/N: Written for Quidditch League. (Beater 1, Bellybats)

NO PROMPTS HALLELUJAH


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